Sewer bills increase $57 annually

Two weeks ago, selectmen raised water use rates. At their April 17 meeting, the board voted to increase the sewer rate, from $32 to $33.25 per quarter, to cover costs for debt assessment.

About 42 percent of town residents are on sewer lines, mostly near the center of town, and their bills will increase about $14.25 per quarter, or $57 a year.

“We get billed from the City of Worcester and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation for the total flow,” said Joe Becker, chairman of selectmen.

Sewage from roughly 1,600 homes in Rutland travels through pipes in Holden to Worcester before it is processed at the wastewater treatment facility. The amount of flow is based on the previous year, and last year there was significant snow melt and rain, which increased the cost to the town.

The sewer assessment from the Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Facility is projected to increase from $233,952 to $246,032.

The new rate will be reflected in the next billing quarter. The last sewer rate increase was two years ago.

In other business, Highway Superintendent Gary Kellaher reported that work on the wall at the town pool should be completed soon, and that his department is working on the road on the former Rutland Heights property. Drainage and grading work are being done to get it ready for school opening in September, he said.

Kellahar read a statement concerning a proposed 15 percent cut in the DPW budget, saying it would mean reductions in staffing, supplies and maintenance. He urged the school district to reconsider its $80.3 million budget, approved in March, noting that the town is in “dire straits.”

Police Chief Donald Haapakoski said 90 percent of the police budget is personnel. “So you know what a 19 percent cut will do to our budget,” he said. “That would be like a 20 percent cut of the $80 million of the school budget. That’s what you’re expecting me to do.”

In other business, selectmen voted to place an article on the town meeting warrant to accept Carlson’s Way as a public road now that a sidewalk issue has been resolved and the DPW and the Planning Board are satisfied with the as-built plan.

Selectman Peter Letsky commended Acting Fire Chief Seth Knipe and the department of public safety for their handling of a fire on Pommogussett Road and an explosion on Edson Avenue.